Consortium Project, Ian Parry's - Ian Parry's Consortium Project

Year of Release: 2000
Label: InsideOut Music
Catalog Number: IOMCD 044
Format: CD
Total Time: 47:52:00

"Hot on the heels of Arjen Lucassen, aka Ayreon." That's about what singer Ian Parry has tried to fix when he brought together some friends in order to kick off his Ian Parry's Consortium Project. Either you love this ex-Vengeance and current Elegy singer or you don't. Personally I'm not too keen on the sultry vocal exploits of Perry. AOR lovers will probably mail me some nasty e-mails yet I don't feel that Ian's voice is well suited for this music. Of course it's rather heavy "prog'n roll" with amongst others some guitar parts from Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon), Stephan Lil (Vanden Plas), Tamas Szekeres and Patrick Rondat (Jean Michel Jarre). Including the pumping drums of Elegy drummer Dirk Bruinenberg and the swirling bass of Barend Courbois (ex-Whistler-Courbois-Whistler, ex-Perfect Strangers, and currently with Vengeance), the intro for "Garden of Eden" leaves behind some recognizable marks. On the romantic "A Miracle Is All We Need," the Dutch "Fake-Clayderman", Jan Vayne, joins the project as if the many female Vayne fans will run to their record store to buy a copy of this Ian Parry exploit. Even if Jan played on President Clinton's inauguration party it won't mean that Ian Parry will be gigging the White House soon! This project misses the finesse that has made Ayreon albums immortal. The result is a pompous junk whereby the unnatural vibrato of Perry can only get to your nerves. Parry has recently recorded new material with Kamelot guitarist ThomYoungblood and Savatage axeman Chris Caffrey for part II of the Consortium Project for release in November later this year. Let's hope he has listened to some of Ayreon's material in the meantime!

Released in North America by the now defunct InsideOut Music America (IOMA 2006-2)

Tracklisting:
House Of Cards (4:17) / Banquet Of Thieves (5:35) / Evilworld (3:44) / Garden Of Eden (4:20) / The Entity (Instrumental) (2:43) / Change Breeds Contempt (4:16) / A Miracle Is All We Need (4:48) / The Snake (3:21) / Criminals & Kings (4:12) / Chain Of Fear (5:23) / Pandora's Box (3:56)

Musicians:
Ian Parry - vocals
Patrick Rondat - guitars
Thom Youngblood - guitar
Stephan Lill - guitars
Tamas Szekeres - guitars
Dirk Bruinenberg - drums
Martin Helmantel - bass
Arjen Lucassen - guitars
Tommy Newton - bass
Barend Curbois - six string bass
Jan Vayne - piano

Discography:
Ian Parry's Consortium Project (1999)
Consortium Project II: Continuum In Extremeis (2001)
Consortium III - Terra Incognita (the Undiscovered World (2003)
Consortium IV - Children Of Tomorrow (2007)

Genre: Progressive-Power Metal

Origin VA

Added: January 1st 2000
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Hits: 2509
Language: english